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DR Congo

DR Congo: Ituri update 01 - 30 Jun 2004

INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND
The month of June has been one of heightened worries and concerns over the future of the entire peace process in the DRC. This is due to the resurgence of rebel activities in the Kivu provinces by a group of renegade former RCD soldiers allied to Colonel Jules Mutebusi and General Laurent Nkunda, both ethnic Tutsis from South and North Kivu provinces respectively. These two military commanders opposed the Kinshasa-appointed General Mbuza Mabe and engaged him and his troops in gun battles which led to the fall of the city of Bukavu in South Kivu province to the hands of the renegade soldiers on June, 2.

This setback to the national peace process took place barely a fortnight after the Ituri armed groups' leaders signed, in Kinshasa, an Act of Commitment to the DCR programme in Ituri (see our Ituri Update of last month). The Bukavu rebellion has been considered as the biggest threat the DRC peace process has had to contend with since the signing of the peace accords in Pretoria in December 2002. Adding to this was the abortive c oup d'etat in June, which took place in Kinshasa. Although the local peace process in Ituri has not been negatively affected so far by this significant blow to the national peace process, there remains a high risk the leaders of the Ituri armed groups might renege on the recently signed Act of Commitment. Whatever way the crisis in the Kivus will be eventually handled politically or militarily by the Kinshasa government, will determine the way the localised Ituri peace process will also evolve. The challenges are indeed big and the stakes high as the following indicators for peace restoration and conflict resurgence demonstrate.

CONFLICT INDICATORS

Proximate Causes

The military activities in the Kivus

The duo of Colonel Jules Mutebusi and General Laurent Nkunda managed to capture Bukavu and hold it for a whole week in early June. While Laurent Nkunda has withdrawn his troops from Bukavu, retiring into a zone known as Kalehe which he has since been occupying to date, Mutebusi headed for Kamanyola, another township 40 km south of Bukavu, where he managed to hold out against government troops for about two weeks before retiring also into Rwanda with 309 of his combatants.

This development highlights a few areas of concern both for Ituri and the national peace process:

1. It shows the fragility of the transitional government in terms of military capacity. Therefore anyone who could mobilize enough troops and be more organised can easily challenge the government institutions with a significant degree of success.

2. Unlike Colonel Mutebusi who eventually retired into Rwanda, General Laurent Nkunda is currently occupying some portion of the Congolese territory, thus calling into question the capacity of the transitional government to guarantee territorial integrity and exert national sovereignty over the entire country's territory.

3. There are persistent "unconfirmed" reports coming from South Kivu indicating that Laurent Nku nda is getting reinforcements in troops and military equipments from neighbouring Rwanda. Meanwhile in Goma and immediate surrounding areas, he is recruiting young soldiers to swell the ranks of his combatants. The transitional government's intelligence and security services seem either to have serious loopholes or be made up of many disgruntled officers for such things to continue happening in case they are true.

Some unverified information from local armed groups in Ituri suggests that, after withdrawing his troops from Bukavu, General Nkunda has been in Uganda for a few days to rally support for his military campaign. For some of the Ituri armed groups' leaders who signed grudgingly the Act of Commitment to the Ituri DCR programme, they can find good ground in the Kivus situation to renege on their commitments and start arming themselves, renewing or rekindling ties with their outside supporters and arms' suppliers, namely Ugandan military officers; thus further weakening the transitional government, delaying the effective restoration of state authority all over the country and jeopardizing the national peace process.

This is possible due to the fact that all the Ituri armed groups still hold their occupied territories as well as their military means despite the signing of the Act of Commitment to the DCR programme last month. The huge delay in the implementation of this programme by the transitional government and its partners is partly responsible for this potentially explosive situation in Ituri.

Unexplained bold resurgence of militia activities in Ituri.

According to MONUC Bunia, there is an FNI/FRPI commander, Mr. Koliba, who is in the Kasenyi area . He seems to have broken ranks with the group and is terrorizing local civilian populations, thus sending hundreds of them fleeing the area to safer places, like Kpandroma, where about 260 families had already arrived as of June 6, 2004. Related to this, there are other reports suggesting that many fishermen from the Kasenyi area are being terrorized, abducted and enslaved by armed FNI combatants still active on the lake.

In Bunia, many people from the Muzipela area report of active and open UPC militia activities. For instance on June 22, a group of about 300 UPC combatants came out jogging around in a military drill. At the same time, the same sources indicate Mr. Bosco, a Rwandan national acting as a commander- in-chief of UPC-L militiamen, has of late been spotted in many places in Muzipela, a UPC-L stronghold. Rumours are also rife in this area of a significant presence of many other Rwandan mercenaries under Bosco's command.

At the same time, in Marabo, an ethnic Bira township 25 km north of Bunia, residents have been complaining for the last one month of increased presence of armed ethnic Hema militiamen marauding around.

MONUC military spoke sman in Bunia, Mr. Kardi, reported that the Ituri brigade was tipped, on June 22, that there was a group of people in Ngezi, a Bunia neighbourhood, recruiting new members for the UPC-L armed group. Upon scoping the area immediately, the Moroccan contingent of the Ituri brigade arrested 11 suspects; among them were Mr. Bosco's deputy, and three other UPC-L commanders. The suspects are currently in MONUC's custody for questioning before they are handed over to the Congolese police for procedural arrangements to arraign them in court.

On the same day, many MONUC patrols in and around Bunia town came under fire from many unidentified assailants, the most significant being the attack launched on the Nepalese contingent encamped at Rwampara, some 35 km or so from Bunia on the Bunia-Kasenyi road. The attack which came from various directions simultaneously was eventually fended off by the blue helmets and no casualties were reported among them. These attacks seem directly connected to the arrests of the 11 UPC-L commanders.

On June 24, under the order from the chief prosecutor of the Bunia court, Mr. Abeli Mwana Ngabo, the MONUC Ituri brigade arrested Mr. Pitchou Iribi, the acting FNI/FRPI chairman. He allegedly wrote a threatening letter to the management of Ashanti Gold Fields in Mongbwalu demanding that the people he recommended be employed.

The following day, June 25, Mr. Kisembo, leader and founder of the break-away wing of the UPC, known as UPC-K, was also arrested by the Ituri brigade. He is accused of recruiting fresh combatants into his militia group. He is also accused of targeting underage youth in his recruitment efforts.

All these developments, including the fact that FAPC leader, Commandant Jerome is being investigated for appointing new officials in his armed group, are evidently a worrying sign that the Act of Commitment signed by the Ituri armed groups' leaders may just be another peace of paper. If not steps are not taken to enforce the agreement, the situation could get out of hand and make the boat (Ituri peace process) capsize.

The apparent revival of activities amongst Ituri armed groups, as observed, may be related to the shaky military situation in the Kivus; a sort of ripple effect. If this is the case, the next few weeks will be critical to monitor in order to determine if there is a direct or consequential relationship between what happened in Bukavu a few weeks ago and what is happening in Ituri.

Triggers

The Emerging Bira-Hema violence.

On Saturday 19th of May 2004, a convoy of Bira youth, palm oil traders, headed for Beni was attacked. Two young men , who were tailing the convoy from some considerable distance, were killed at a village known as PK,12 Km south of Marabo (which is itself at some 10 km North of Bunia). On hearing the news, the Bira simply pointed the finger to the armed Hema militiamen who have been milling around as being responsible for the killings.

The members of the Bira community, most likely under the instigation of the extremists among them1, reacted by attacking, with crude weapons, ethnic Hemas in and around PK, killing five people and injuring many others2. The attack lasted 2 =BD hours.

Widespread violence often starts with such incidents which may be viewed as isolated Incidents and limited in scope. However, it is necessary to remember that the widespread violence in Ituri last year began as local level skirmishes that exploded into mass killings and attempts at ethnic cleansing. It is possible that this outbreak of violence between the Hema and the Bira may be one of the ploys being used by extremists within each of the Ituri armed groups/movements to plunge Ituri back into widespread violence. Maybe this way, political agreements at the national level could get renegotiated afresh so that those who claim to have been left out can also be included. Therefore, efforts need to be made urgently to speed up the DCR programme in order to deny to the extremists a chance to continue the exploitation, for their own benefit, of the current ly confused and undefined status of ethically based combatants (of all Ituri armed groups.

PEACE INDICATORS

Processes

Voluntary return of many IDPs

There seems to be a generalised trend of IDPs returning to their former places of residence. Those in Bunia returning to their homes either within town or outside, those in Beni (North Kivu province) trickling back to Bunia3, and those who have been hiding in the bushes are returning to their villages. In addition, displaced peoples from Bogoro, on the Uganda shores of Lake Albert, are willing to return home. Bogoro is currently an FNI/FRPI-controlled territory, and most of the people who fled away from this area are ethnic Hemas. Three meetings of customary dignitaries from this area took place in Bunia during the second fortnight of June to plan and secure from all local stakeholders (including representatives of different ethnic groups) a safe return of all those that had been displaced.

For those in the IDP camp near the Bunia airport, Atlas Logistics, an international French NGO, is facilitating their return and their resettlement by first surveying the security conditions of the places they want to return to and then by providing those leaving the camps with a support kit made of food rations for a one-month period and tools for land tilling. (E.g. hoes, machetes)

This trend is indicative of significant improvements in security conditions in most parts of Ituri district compared to when Ituri got partitioned into different areas, each controlled by different ethnic armed groups.

Equipments for the First Integrated FARDC Brigade

On June 24, the boat carrying some of the military equipments4 destined for the first integrated FARDC brigade arrived at the Kisangani Congo river port. These equipments, sent from Kinshasa, include about 24 military vehicles and communication equipment. Receiving this equipment, the Chief of Staff of the FARDC, in charge of infantry, General Sylvain Mbuki, announced that more equipment, including guns and ammunitions will be shortly brought in by air.

Originally, he said that although the first integrated brigade of the FARDC was meant to be deployed to Ituri, it could be deployed elsewhere in the country if it was necessary given the possibility of military insurrection in the East.

National security imperatives may evidently dictate that the Kisangani-trained FARDC brigade be tactically deployed in the Eastern of the country, but this would not directly improve the security situation in Ituri which, in fact, seems to be showing signs of deterioration with the low-key but bold resurgence of militia activities, most likely due to scepticism of the peace process.

However, reports from Kisangani, which have yet to be verified, suggest that some troops of the FARDC are already on their way to Ituri. This may be a likely thing to happen now given it coincides with the appointment at last of the district commissioner for Ituri.5

Tools

The Ituri Brigade

Besides the Moroccan contingent that has been policing Bunia and its environs, the Pakistani troops are back in Bunia to reinforce their work. There seems to be a serious discrepancy between the available combat troops within the MONUC Ituri brigade and the real needs on the ground to maintain order and security, as well as monitor the activities of the armed groups before and until the DCR programme is underway and completed.

The Bunia Judiciary

After a long trial period in Bunia , the case of Mr. Ngujolo, an FNI/FRPI militant, resulted in an acquittal and he was released on June 3. Ngujolo and his three accomplices were all acquitted for lack of evidence on the murder charges for which they had been arrested. But the chief prosecutor warned Ngujolo that he could be arrested again because there are many cases currently under investigation against him that have yet to be brought to trial.

However, the temporary release of Ngujolo and his accomplices caused wide jubilations among the FNI/FRPI militants in Bunia, thus angering UPC militants who felt the verdict was unfair while they still have their own in remand custody. Meanwhile, another FNI/FRPI combatant, Mr. Abuna Djabu had been sentenced on June 17 to a five -year jail term. He had been arrested in March for illegally carrying a gun.

Demonstrations

Peace and security conditions can be said to be relatively stable in the entire district. The IIA deputy Coordinator in charge of Economy and Development has been to four of the five territories of the Ituri districts, namely Mambasa, Irumu, Mahagi, and Djugu to pay public servants their salaries of the last eight months after years of interruption due to the conflict. Only Aru civil servants remain to be paid by the IIA and plans are underway for an IIA evaluation mission to be sent very soon to Aru in this respect. Hopefully, the newly appointed District Commissioner for Ituri will continue this impetus shown by the IIA to reunify Ituri administratively, since administrators had been appointed for all the Ituri territories by the same presidential decree that appointed the District Commissioner for Ituri.

Accessibility by IIA officials to all these places in Ituri is a definite sign of improvement in armed groups-IIA relations, and thereby a right move in the restoration of state authority.

STAKEHOLDERS

THE KINSHASA GOVERNMENT

Due to instable security conditions in the East, the transitional government has not been able to effectively mark its presence in Ituri in any special way in terms of high profile visits from government or military as has officials. Not only is the peace process still fragile in Ituri but even the Act of Commitment signed by the Ituri armed groups last month needs to be followed-up politically in order to consolidate government resolve and the commitment of the armed groups to stabilise Ituri. Any sign of relaxation by the transitional government will not only be perceived as backtracking on their part, but can actually lead or encourage the armed groups to resume their "military activities", as various cases during this month of June demonstrate.

THE ITURI INTERIM ADMINISTRATION (IIA)

June 28, 2004, two days ahead of the first anniversary of the DRC transitional government, and exactly one year to the scheduled elections in the country, a decree was signed by the head of state to appoint Mrs. Petronille Vaweka6 as the district commissioner for Ituri.

To consolidate the newly found unity of Province Orientale and the return of Ituri into mainstream local government administrative settings, Mr. Theo Baruti, the Governor of Province Orientale is planning a visit to Ituri, to swear into office the newly appointed Ituri district commissioner, probably early next month (July).

The fate of all the organs that comprised the IIA is yet to be known as the District Commissioner has not been sworn into office yet.

The main consequence of this appointment is that one important aspect of a parallel- level peace process, one national and the other localised in Ituri has been resolved. Actually, this appointment is expected to heal any inefficiency in local government administration in Ituri which, in the end, functioned to benefit only those who are fond of manipulation; exploiting this inefficiency to create tensions or even trouble.

CONCLUSION

It is interesting to note the clearly ambivalent nature of the Ituri peace process during the month of June 04. On one hand, there is this widespread trend of IDPs returning home, indicating general security conditions have improved significantly, and at the same time, an abrupt rekindling of militia activities in and around Bunia which would suggest otherwise. Keen observers would probably agree to the fact that this latter trend is largely a ripple effect of the military rebellion taking place in Kivus. While this could indeed be true, the situation in Ituri, if left to continue could engineer its own dynamics and deteriorate in tandem with the situation in the Kivus. After all, all the ingredients are there to brew the cocktail.

Some of the steps mentioned above need to be taken into account to contain the situation in Ituri and perhaps improve it. To those steps, the following security measures also need to be taken to make the machinery complete:

- Speeding up the implementation of the DCR program all over Ituri in order to scuttle the still organized bodies of the armed groups

- The presence of the FARDC brigade in Ituri remains a key alternative to bolster peace and order enforcement mechanisms currently in place. If the DRC transitional government would eventually deploy the Kisangani-trained FARDC to places other than Ituri, a well trained and equipped police force should be sent into Ituri, while waiting for the integration of the country's armed factions into the national army to be completed.

- The efficiency of the newly appointed administration in Ituri will largely depend, on the law enforcement forces put at its disposal, and on the resources it would be able to mobilize to implement its mandate. The latter would obviously not be possible with the current setup of the security apparatus in Ituri.

Footnotes

1 See our last month (May) Ituri Update for report on feuding within the ethnic Bira Community

2 The report of the MSF hospital puts the figure of the casualties brought in at 17 people.

3 For this category of IDPs from Ituri who fled for safety to Beni, there appears not to be an organised and coordinated action by anyone or organisation/agency to ship them back into Ituri. Most of the returnees so far have come back on their personal initiatives, using their financial means. However, some efforts are being made to correct this situation. For instance, in June,, a meeting was held at the Bunia OCHA office to strategise on how to help the Ituri residents, now IDPs in Beni, to come back to Ituri.

4 This equipment is part of the donation from Belgium to the DRC transitional government.

5 The district commissioner was declared by a presidential decree on June 28, thus putting a final end to the IIA.

6 Petronille Vaweka was the chairperson of the Ituri Interim Assembly since the inception of the IIA, and later she had been nominated as an MP at the national Assembly. She concurrently held both positions until her appointment as District Commissioner for Ituri.

For enquiries or comments, contact: Blaise Kabongo
DLCKivu@lycos.com at the AIP Bunia Field Office. Quartier Lumumba, Boulevard de la Libération No. 53, derrière la Tribune Municipale. Tel. (+ 243) 9867 8490, 9861 3639, 9860 5779